I have to say, WOW. It's been a long time since I've written on this blog. Well, if you're looking for more album recommendations, I will have those and hopefully more. This isn't meant to be a serious blog, but if I want to have a serious career as a journalist then I must start practicing. Or else.
I'll try and write more on this blog, maybe about music, shows, or just general bitching and whining. If you're an actual regular reader or just someone who stumbled across this, bear with me here.
The Dead Kennedys played tonight at Turner Hall in Milwaukee, starting their tour across the midwest to parts of the east coast and Canada. A lot of people will probably rip on them for not having Jello and selling out to the crowd. Though this may be true (I don't know enough about the subject to say anything, honestly), one thing is for sure. Musicians entertain for a living, so entertaining people is what they're here for.
It's very ironic for a band like them to be this punk circus act, after writing so much music about telling politicians and rockstars to stuff it. But although they may seem like a circus act, it doesn't stop the crowd from going wild and people throwing themselves off the stage onto other people. Especially on me. But I think that's an important aspect of any musical event you see. The crowd gets into it and it's not about just watching the band. You become a part of the show.
I had a great time seeing the Dead Kennedys. They had all the original members; East Bay Ray on guitar, Flouride on bass, DH Peligro on the drums. The only change here is they have a Ron "Skip McSkipster" Greer as their vocalist. Skip does a pretty decent job replacing Jello. He's very theatrical with his performance, has the high voice and manages to integrate his own humor into the set. My only complaint, which isn't a real complaint but is an observation, is that DK's playing was very show off-like tonight. Maybe not to show off, but they know that most people will clap and appreciate their music anyway, so they would take liberties dragging out certain parts of their songs.
Of course, they were other acts, but when you're an opening band to a big band like the Dead Kennedys, you tend to get glazed over. Hopefully I can cover these opening bands with as much respect as the Dead Kennedys. But I doubt it. The first up was Deathwish, a local band from Milwaukee. I don't know a lot about the local bands out here but they were a solid, standard 4-chord street punk band. Listening to their stuff reminds me of Discharge and GBH. They have a heavy D-Beat style, but I can see places in their songs where backup vocals or some skate punk-style vocalization would be cool. For an opening band, they were pretty good.
Next was Burning Sons, straight out of Bay View, in Milwaukee. I'm honestly surprised a band like this could emerge from a place like Bay View, because to me Bay View is scene kid central. I'm kind of glad they broke out of there. It was a classic hardcore punk band with a screaming female singer (who was pretty damn hot). I think the fact that she could pull off such looks was what got her in the band, since I couldn't understand what she was growling most of the time. But despite that, I found myself into it halfway through. They get my approval.
The last band before the big DK was The Crosses. I didn't know a lot about them and their music was just as confusing. Their singer sounded like he was in Iron Maiden, the tempo would increase and decrease rapidly like some sort of grindcore band. Now that I think of it, it was probably just some sort of powerviolence band. They played a cover of Cows and Beer by Die Kreuzen, the legendary Milwaukee punk band, and they did a good job of it too. They got the circle pit going and I got in. Maybe it was just the covers, but despite being such an awkward sounding band they managed to get people moving and going. I can say I was into it too.
So, that concludes my little report on tonight. Dead Kennedys, they may not have the same credibility anymore but they can still put on a show. I think when you're in the shoes of a musician, you have to make these types of choices sometimes otherwise you won't eat. I think the best thing to do, at least as an observer, is to enjoy the situation for what it is. I'm beat as fuck from the pit and from stage diving, and you can say what you will about DK now, but I had a good time. Having a good time is what mattered the most to me about this show, and it should matter the most at any show.
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